Divinity
by glambothefirst
Summary: There are two orders of creation: one divine, the other demonic. - Bhagavad Gita 16.6
1. Joan Crawford

Sabrina looked nervously over her shoulders as she pretended to innocently stroll through the narrow aisle. Frequent trips to the liquor store seemed to be a part of her job that she just couldn't shake. Ignoring the stares she was sure she was getting, she let her brown eyes roam around before finally spotting what she'd been looking for and crouching down beside it.

Ballantine's Scotch Whiskey.

Having only heard of but never tasted this particular brand, Sabrina picked up the front bottle and lifted the twisted hanging tag that concealed its price. She turned it, immediately set the big heavy bottle down on the floor and snatched up the one behind it. Frowning, she tilted it toward her and mouthed a curse to herself when she saw that the previous tag had not been a misprint. Was that per bottle? No wonder she stuck to the cheaper stuff.

Oh well. This was a special occasion.

She grabbed up four bottles, then paused for a moment and added a fifth to her armload before making her way to the cash register.

There were a few men loitering about the store and all of them stared curiously at her as she passed by.

"I'm free tonight. Need someone to party with, honey?" One of them chuckled at her back.

Growing uncomfortable with their stares, Sabrina only ignored him. Jerks, she thought to herself irritably. Hanging out in a liquor store on a Saturday morning and having the audacity to judge her? She would have turned around and told off all of them if she wasn't absolutely sure one of the more polite shoppers was an old friend of her father's. No need to give him anything to write home about.

"Will this be all, miss?" The obviously high young man behind the counter asked.

"Yeah." Sabrina said quickly, digging into her pocket for cash.

"Can I see some I.D.?"

Sabrina heaved a sigh of irritation. She was a block away from her apartment and this guy had seen her, Jill, Kelly, and even Bosely on a number of occasions. Yet every time he demanded to waste her precious time with identification. She rooted around in her purse, pulled out her wallet and mutely thrust it at him.

The young man squinted hard for a moment and then smiled. "Just made it, huh?"

This time she couldn't help but roll her eyes. He'd said that to her before almost as many times as she'd been here. She tapped her fingers impatiently as the clerk tallied up and bagged her purchases as slowly as possible.

"That'll be $49.53." He said finally.

Sabrina handed him two twenties and a ten and then was suddenly struck by something she'd forgotten. "Oh yeah, and this." She said, grabbing up a chocolate bar from the display box and sliding it to him.

The clerk fixed her with a look.

"What?" Sabrina cried defensively. "It's not for me!"

The clerk raised his hands in mock surrender. "Whatever you say, miss." He added the candy to her purchase, dropped it in one of the brown paper bags and handed Sabrina her change.

"Have a nice evening!" He called slyly to her as she exited the store.

Grumbling to herself, Sabrina pushed her way out the door and, with some effort carried her heavy bundle to her car where Jill and Kelly were waiting inside.

"Just a little something? That looks like more than a little something." Jill questioned as she watched her friend struggle into her seat and thrust the heavy paper sacks into Kelly's lap.

"Yeah." Sabrina mumbled. She reached into one of the bags, felt around for the candy bar and then tossed it into the backseat. "There. You're welcome."

Beside her, Kelly gingerly pawed open one and then the other sack and peeked inside. "Sabrina, we were gonna wait until we had a few days off, but I think it's time for an intervention." She said somberly.

Sabrina cast a glare her way before starting the car and pulling out of the lot. "Oh, shut up. It's for that old man." She sighed tolerantly. "He's one of maybe five people in the world that's more useful drunk."

Jill leaned forward into the front seat to see what was inside the bags. _"Fanks fo_ the chocolate." She said, her mouth full. "Oh, are you sure that's enough?"

Finally, this comment was enough to make Sabrina laugh. Jill did have a point.

They'd been hired last week onto what had at first seemed like an easy case. Octogenarian Robert Carlson found himself in the unfortunate position of nearing the end of his days with no heir to whom he could leave his extensive fortune to. Their job had been to locate somebody, anybody, who could fit this position before Carlson's death resulted in his family fortune being left to auction. But as the week dragged on, their seemingly easy case had taken a number of unexpected twists and turns.

First and foremost, Robert was extremely difficult. The old man drank like a fish and was about as useful as one without some kind of liquor in his hands to jog his memory. Half senile and easily distracted by a pretty face or a full bra, it seemed a full time job in itself just to keep him on topic and get him to keep his hands to himself.

As if that wasn't enough, it wasn't just the old man's senility that kept him from locating an heir. He truly hadn't been kidding when he'd told them it would be tough. There seemed to be a black hole where his family tree should have been. Endless hours pouring through county documents, following pointless leads on the phone and on foot had resulted in just endless hours wasted.

But the most shocking of all had been Tuesday night, when the girls received a frantic call after midnight from Bosely and had been rushed into the office to find that there'd been an attempt on the old man's life. Apparently, there was someone who wasn't willing to wait until natural causes claimed Robert Carlson.

Sabrina maneuvered her Pinto through the light, mid-morning traffic and headed down the all too familiar road towards the office. Robert had apparently mentioned a brother during a phone meeting with Charlie last night and they were now on their way to find out more about him. Why it had taken a whole week to mention such a close relative was beyond her comprehension, but if this was a step closer to putting an end to this case, then it was a step they were more than happy to take.

"Charlie said this stuff was his favorite. Hopefully, he'll be a little more forthcoming about his baby brother once he's had a few."

"He'll have a hangover coming if he drinks all of this." Jill joked.

Sabrina and Kelly giggled.

"Well, if it works I'll buy him the next round." Kelly laughed. "If it takes another five bottles of Scotch to keep from hearing his Joan Crawford story again then it's money well spent."

"Four bottles." Sabrina corrected.

Kelly gave her a smile that was both amused and puzzled. "Four?" she asked.

Sabrina grinned. "One of them is for us."

"You mean for you and the chocolate fiend back there." Kelly said, casting a teasing glance back at her blonde friend, who opened her full mouth and stuck out her tongue in retaliation. "I'm retired from your little reindeer games."

Sabrina's grin widened. "I know, I was counting on that. It'll be a treat not to have to deal with you. Besides, who do you think is going to be driving me and Jill home?"

Kelly had to laugh. "Keep it up and it'll be your dad's couch you wake up on."

Sabrina laughed and gave Kelly a playful shove. In reality, she was very much looking forward to cracking open that bottle with Jill and Kelly. Not because of the alcohol itself but because that would mean this godforsaken case was over. There was a moment she couldn't wait for.

If all went as well as she was hoping for today, their meeting with Robert Carlson would bring them that much closer to it.

* * *

An hour later, it seemed to Sabrina that the moment she'd been hoping for was getting farther and farther out of her grasp.

They'd been talking to Robert for forty five minutes and the old geezer seemed to want to talk about everything but his brother, despite several attempts by all of them to get him on topic.

"Mr. Carlson said you might have better luck with his brother," With a tired sigh, Charlie's voice echoed through the speaker box with the same questions he'd already asked at least ten times. "Walt is his name, correct?"

Carlson's answer gave them all a delightful surprise.

"Yes," The older man tentatively smiled, enjoying being in the company of the three lovely ladies around him. At his age it was rare – or rather nonexistent – to get so much fuss from women. It didn't matter that business was involved. It also didn't matter that the girls had been slumped in their seats in bored defeat while he talked before his previous response had them bolting upright in excitement.

"He has kept records of our family tree, you see. If you've missed anyone, they would certainly be on there."

A family tree? Kelly and Sabrina shared an unspoken look of disbelief. The look would have also extended to Jill, but after such a mind numbing morning, her mind was wandering just as much as their client's. A small, shocked smile curled on Jill's lips. "Really? My mother did the same thing! She -"

With a wave of her hand, Sabrina stopped Jill from going into a story that would only sidetrack the old man again and prolong their case. "Mr. Carlson, where does your brother live?"

Mr. Carlson answered her question with a soft laugh that was almost a sigh. "Where does Walt live?" He echoed, amusement in his tone. "Where doesn't Walt live I think is the better question."

Sabrina didn't seem to agree. "Well.. I suppose that would narrow it down." She answered slowly, trying to keep her growing frustration out of her voice. "But if you want us to talk to him then we'll need-"

"An address." Mr. Carlson said quickly. "Yes, young lady. Yes, you would. But what I'm trying to tell you is that he doesn't have an address. The old boy lives in one of those big giant shoe box looking contraptions that the outdoors type use for camping or…." He arched one bushy eyebrow and then shrugged. "..or what have you. I'm not the outdoorsy type."

"Like an R.V.?" Jill offered helpfully.

Carlson turned to her and nodded graciously. "Ah, exactly. Thank you, Blondie. This must be why I hired you."

Jill giggled but Kelly and Sabrina were much less amused.

"You seem awfully relaxed for a man with a target nailed to his head." Kelly had been trying to hold in her distaste over the last week, watching him laugh and continuously have fun with her blonde friend. But this was getting serious. The more time they wasted, the more time they lost to find his missing heir and the more time they gave some whack job to off him. "You said before all of this that you didn't want to see any of your belongings go up for auction, but if you don't help us then that's what will happen!"

"Kelly..." Charlie stammered.

"Quite all right, Mr. Townsend. She has a point. I don't mind having the target on my head," He moved in his chair, so he could see Kelly a little bit more. "I'm already dying, child. How I die is irrelevant to me. However, I do not want my property in the hands of some scum, and knowing my brother he won't take it. But Walt is your only chance... my only chance. The last I heard of him was that he was headed north, toward the Bridge Grove area."

The three girls shared a surprised look at Carlson's revelation.

"Bridge Grove?" Sabrina said finally. "There's nothing out there!"

Carlson only smiled helplessly. "That's Walt for you. I suppose that should make him stand out, wouldn't you say?"

Kelly sighed and gingerly rubbed the bridge of her nose to ward off the impending headache she knew was coming. This man and his flippant responses were fast getting to her.

"So one of us hops in a car and heads out for Bridge Grove, then drives around until either Walt is found or they run out of gas?" She asked disbelievingly. "Charlie, is there any way you can give us more to go on? I mean, that's going to take all day assuming he's even out there."

Before Charlie could respond, Jill reached over and patted the old man's hand.

"I'll do it." She said casually. "I like a challenge."

Carlson let out a croaky laugh. "And so does my brother. He likes blondes too. Wouldn't you know it, I think you'd be the best one for the job."

Kelly narrowed her eyes. Challenge or not, she knew that it was all too easy to get lost in the vast expanse that was Bridge Grove. "Even though my hair color is wrong, I think I better do this anyway."

Jill's head shook, looking rather offended. "I can find my way up there."

Sabrina rested on the leg of the couch, reading Jill's easy expression. Liar. "I'm sure you would end up in Nevada before ever reaching Bridge Grove. That's why we have Kelly."

With a smug grin at Jill, Kelly wiggled her keys. "Charlie, am I officially assigned to this matter?"

Her boss chuckled. "You are, angel. But to make sure no feelings are hurt, Jill will accompany you on your trip. Sabrina will stay here with Mr. Carlson and work from the office."

"Too bad Bos had to catch a cold." Jill put her arm over Kelly's shoulder and hung on her. Wary of Jill, Kelly pressed the keys close to her body so they couldn't be snatched away. "Then we wouldn't need to drive."

"We wouldn't need to drive if this guy had a phone number either." Kelly muttered under her breath. She caught the chastising look Sabrina shot her way a moment later and realized she'd voiced another frustration out loud again. Rude of her, perhaps, but the old man looked far too interested in staring at Jill's chest and expectantly clinking the ice in his glass to summon up the offer of another drink to notice. She sighed evenly and turned back to the speaker box.

"So, when does this goose chase start, Charlie?" Kelly asked.

"Whenever you're ready, angel." Charlie answered quickly. "If you leave now you can be in Bridge Grove by noon. With your keen navigation senses, Kelly, I take it six hours of sunlight is plenty to find Walt Carlson."

"Six hours, huh?" Kelly sighed, shrugging Jill off her shoulders. "Sounds like a party. We won't even notice-"

Once her head was wrapped around the hideously long, and uncomfortable trip they would have to make for one client, Jill saw the bright side of things. That meant her and Kelly could sing along to the radio, play those road trip games everybody liked, and bond a little more. But most importantly, it would get her out of the office and away from the old man and the endlessly boring paper trail chases that he came with. Mood now lifted, she decided to interrupt. "Oh, it won't be that bad! I'll drive the way back!"

Kelly stiffened her neck and raised a curious brow. Then proceeded to shoot her down. Jill had been the driver during their last mission and neither her or Sabrina had yet to forgive her for it. "It's alot of driving, but I'd feel better if I did it."

"Kelly-"

"Jill!" Kelly cut her off. "You don't know the way. I do."

Feeling irritated and mildly embarrassed, Jill forced a pout onto her face. "I'll memorize all the roads once you get us there." Her voice was small, nearly child like as she attempted to manipulate Kelly's softer side. If not Kelly's then at least the two men who were present and semi-present in the room. Anyone who could speak for her.

Kelly wasn't having it. "Jill, there's hardly anything to memorize." She argued. "Besides, you remember our three hour trip to Burbank, don't you?"

Jill smiled triumphantly. Of course she did. But that wasn't going to win Kelly any points. Not with her backup plan. "Kelly," She started slowly, making sure to elbow Sabrina to get her attention. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be driving so much. It's safer if I help you. Tell her, Bri."

Sabrina finished pouring a delighted Carlson another drink and topped off her own. "She's driving on the way back, Kell." She said firmly, without bothering to give eye contact.

Kelly frowned. There was no arguing with that tone and certainly not here. "Fine," She relented. "But I get to pick the radio stations."

"Then it's settled." Charlie cut in quickly before anymore bickering could continue. "Jill and Kelly, I'll check in with you around noon. Assuming of course that you can hear me over whatever radio station Kelly decides that the two of you are listening to."

"I'll make sure the goose chase isn't too wild." Jill answered brightly, giving Kelly a clap on the shoulder and causing her to dribble water out of her glass. Kelly ignored it. If she was going to dwell on every little thing, this would be a longer trip than it already was.

"Then bon voyage, Angels!" Charlie said cheerfully. "Sabrina, I want you and Robert to stay here and exhaust the rest of his leads. I trust you have enough to keep you busy?"

Sabrina swiveled her eyes away from the speaker and towards the old man, who only winked and made a show of swirling around the cubes of ice in his now empty glass.

"More than enough, Charlie." She sighed.

Not knowing if she felt more sorry for Sabrina or herself, Kelly grabbed her jacket and gave her friend an easy smile. "Don't fall for him too fast." She whispered and backed away quickly before Sabrina could begin swatting at her. Kelly and Jill both said goodbye with Kelly leading out the door,disdain over her current objective, and Jill following with a toothy smile and optimism that made her want to puke.

Finding Walt Carlson in Bridge Grove was going to be as simple as that old saying – finding a needle in a haystack.

"I suppose I'll go back to doing my research, angel. Please do keep our dear friend in good company." Charlie spoke up after he'd heard the door close after Kelly and Jill.

Sabrina nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Goodbye for now, Sabrina."

There was a distinct click, and now she was alone with the eighty-five year old. Before her fidgeting became noticeable, Sabrina raced around so she was behind the bar. "So, Mr Carlson..."

"Please, do call me Robert."

Right. Robert. The fact that he licked his lips as he said it didn't bother her at all.

"Robert... who would you like to investigate further other than your brother?"

But with his glazed eyes, and obvious glances, it was clear that discussing the case was far from his mind. "Did I mention that you remind me of a young Joan Crawford? We had a wild night in 1931."

She could only look on and wonder how long she would listen to this story before he fell asleep on their couch, where she would wait for Jill and Kelly to return. Or, at least for Charlie to call back.

"Pour me another, Slim!"

In times like these, she wished for something a little more exciting to happen.


	2. Raincheck

"Are you living?"

Jill shook her head and smiled. "Yep."

"Are you a woman?"

"Nope."

Kelly sighed and wearily fixed her eyes on the never ending scenery rushing by them. A childhood that consisted of making others happy to survive had taught her to quickly adapt to any and all situations as they arose and this was no different. Jill didn't do well when she was bored and with the radio churning out nothing but static for the past hour, unless she played along, the energetic blonde would be absolutely insufferable.

"Are you an actor?" she asked absently.

Jill smacked her lips in response and gave her friend a slight shove. "You already asked that twice and twice I said that I was!"

Kelly rubbed her temple with her left hand. "Sorry. Are you a singer too?"

"Nope." Jill crowed happily. She reached out and swept the quarters the girls had been betting into her hand. "And that's twenty. I'm John Wayne."

"Almost had it." Kelly said dryly, switching driving hands. She yawned and rubbed her eyes with the bend of her wrist. "My turn?"

Jill frowned at her lack of interest. "Well don't get too excited." She muttered, looking a little hurt. "I'm just trying to help pass the time."

"Sorry." She spoke in a detached tone, pushing down on the gas pedal a little harder. It only made the mustang jerk more as the tires passed over the rocks covering the road.

Folding her arms, Jill moodily sunk into her seat. "Kris loves these kinds of games."

"I'm not Kris."

That was fine. Kelly didn't have much patience, she knew. She was tired and frustrated. She didn't know what she was saying. It would switch around soon and she would be back to her normal self. Jill wasn't going to let a tiny, miniscule insult damage her. But that didn't mean she was going to sit there and take it. Deciding she was done with Kelly for the rest of the trip, Jill huffed loudly and snapped her head towards the scenery outside.

"What?" Kelly glanced over, and seeing Jill's back, instantly realized how hurtful she'd been. Recognizing her friend's pout as one of genuine hurt feelings, she sighed and reached out to tug on her sleeve. "Jill! No, don't do that!"

"Oh, now you want to talk to me? Just drive." Jill grumbled, fixing her gaze out the window.

"No, no, no, I'm sorry! I'm being a bitch, I know." Kelly exhaled deeply, taking a free hand to rub on Jill's shoulder. "Hey, I have some peanut butter cookies in my glove compartment. Do you want to split them with me?"

Jill tried to swallow the tightness in her throat and failed. "You could at least pretend you didn't wish Sabrina had come with you."

Kelly groaned, immediately regretting every instance of eye rolling, sighing and muttering she'd done at Jill's expense. "No, Jill, I swear it." She said quickly. "I'm glad you're here, I really am! I like driving with you, it's just- God, this case and that old man have me so frustrated and now we're stuck driving around and wasting a whole day. And I'm sorry, Jill. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

Jill's eyes remained glumly fixed outside her window.

"Jill," Kelly pleaded, desperate to have her bubbly and animated friend back. "I'm sorry. C'mon, let's play, huh?" She reached out and patted her friend's knee. "Please?"

Finally, Jill turned back around. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before reaching over and unlatching the glove box door. With the package of cookies in her lap, she stared ahead and was silent for a moment before tearing into the packaging and offering Kelly a faint smile.

"Are you a man?"

In an instance, Kelly's face drew nearer to her windshield. Could that be...

"I don't think so." She answered distractedly.

Jill was too busy digging into her bag of cookies to see anything her friend had spotted. "Then you must be a woman."

"No."

"Oh? You're an object then... uhm..."

Kelly gripped the steering wheel, and as she got closer, she realized just what it was that she was looking at. "An R.V!"

Throwing her hands up toward the sky, as if she was looking for God Himself to give her support, Jill shook the bag of cookies at Kelly. "It's called twenty questions not three for a reason! Why'd you..." When she turned her head to look outside, Jill's eyes locked on to the red object Kelly had been referring to. "Kelly! It's an R.V!"

The mustang slid off the road and into the dirt, driving slowly as to not to scare off anyone inside. Didn't want to make it seem like they were on the attack.

"Do you have your gun?" Kelly asked.

Jill patted on her holster. "But don't interrogate at gunpoint like in Burbank."

Kelly sighed irritably. "Then don't blow our cover like in Burbank and I won't have to!" She huffed, easing her car carefully over the uneven terrain.

"I didn't!" Jill insisted. "You need to cut back on all that coffee you drink! I swear you are so paranoid! All I said was-"

But this conversation had been had several times before and Kelly was not in the mood to go over the facts again. She jerked the car into an intentionally sudden halt, silencing Jill's argument by sending the cookies sliding off of her lap and to the floor.

"Careful!" Jill protested, predictably abandoning the previous conversation to come to her snack's rescue.

Kelly grinned. "Sorry." She said quickly. "Okay, this guy is probably just as big a creep as his brother. We'll go in, introduce ourselves, and whoever he seems to be more…interested in will take the lead in questioning. How's that sound?"

"Gentlemen do prefer blondes." Jill said airily as she got out of the car.

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "A soda says he doesn't."

"A soda and chips."

"You're on."

Thus began the rivalry to see whose charm and beauty could woo the man into gawking at them the most. They shut the car doors, hoping to not alarm him inside his questionable looking home. A campfire was nearby, as well as several animal skins hung up on a line with a man's shabby overalls. Jill's lip curled as she surveyed the area in disapproval. "It stinks out here."

Kelly's opinion wasn't any higher. "This guy really takes the wilderness life seriously, doesn't he?"

"I wonder what his diet is," Jill thought aloud as they got closer to the door, "Squirrel for breakfast, raccoon for lunch, bear for dinner?"

"Just knock on the door." Kelly sighed, giving her a light shove on the back.

Rolling her eyes, Jill thumped on the crooked, wooden door. It surprised her coyotes weren't out scavenging for lunch around them. Buzzards flew in the clear sky, and gave the entire place an old western feel. Except it was just a poor man's shack. "Okay," Jill finally said, "He's not home. Lets go."

"Wait a minute!" Kelly stopped her and pounded on the door herself. "Walt Carlson? Are you home? We need to talk to you!" She called inside with her face pressed against the crack of door.

In seconds, the door released and Kelly's face was met with the end of a double barrel shotgun. Her green eyes reached up in surprise and a saw a snarl on the scruffy man's face. "Who's askin?"

Thinking quickly, Jill whipped her gun out and raised it, allowing Kelly enough time to back away and pull out her own. "Put down your weapon, sir!" Jill ordered, hurrying to Kelly's side. "Put it down this instant!"

With his long beard and camouflaged outfit, nobody would think of him as a threat. But as long as he had the mother of all guns in his hand, they couldn't afford to play nice. Though it was Jill's authoritative tone that made him smile underneath that busy, gray hair. "A blonde who knows how to use a gun, huh?"

Jill only stared at him, adrenaline still flying much too high to let down her guard just yet. Kelly might be more irritable these days but all the same, she'd prefer her best friend to not have any more holes in her head. And seeing how Kelly had quickly backed away, she probably agreed.

"Lower your weapon, sir." She said again. "Don't make me ask you again."

Walt Carlson's amused grin widened and with a throaty laugh, he raised his hands in surrender, bringing the shotgun's aim away from Kelly and up to the ceiling. "Okay, okay, don't shoot me, Blondie." He chuckled. "What'd I do this time?"

With the shotgun now out of play, both girls finally exhaled in relief, though they didn't lower their weapons. "Nothing, Mr. Carlson." Kelly spoke up, still a little breathless and pale. "We were hoping we could ask you a few questions."

Walt raised a bushy eyebrow and set his gun down out of sight. "Them deer aren't poached, I can tell you that much right away." He said quickly, crossing his arms defiantly across his narrow chest. "This isn't anyone's property, I checked before I parked. If you don't believe me you can go to county and check the records."

Kelly looked confused for a moment before shaking her head. "No, no. We don't care about that. We're ju-"

"You girls cops?" Walt interrupted.

"No." Jill answered. "Private detectives. Your bro-"

"Well then put down the damn guns!" Walt cried, whipping a filthy handkerchief out of his pocket and waving it in mock surrender. "How am I supposed to talk to you with guns in my face? Makes a man nervous!"

Kelly shot Jill a weary look and the two mutually decided that this old man wouldn't hurt them. Grudgingly, they holstered their weapons.

"Well, now that we're all civil here, yes I'm Walt Carlson. You can call me Walt." The old man said cheerfully. He leaned back, flipped on a light and beckoned the girls forward. "Come on in, I was just about to have me a snack." When the girls didn't immediately follow, the old man looked exasperated. "Well, come on! You wanna ask me questions, I can't answer nothing without my afternoon snack." He paused, narrowed his eyes at Kelly and then grinned. "Hey Quickdraw, you know you remind me of a young Joan Crawford? Me and her had a wild night back in '28. Tell you all about it over some grub."

Kelly blinked, feeling like the butt of a bad joke but swallowed her pride. She certainly didn't want to know what his definition of grub was, though it seemed to not matter to Jill by the way she was scampering inside. Once they made it in, the overpowering stench of dead animal hit them full force. Kelly grabbed Jill's shirt and balled it up into a fist, hanging on to her so she wouldn't pass out.

Jill turned an off shade of green, putting a hand over her stomach as she tried to conceal her dislike of what she smelled – and saw. Clothes covered any object she could see, various stains were embedded into the floors and walls. Flies and gnats swarmed around two dead – still skinned – squirrels laying on a patch of counter space he had next to a rusty sink. There a large hunting knife laid, waiting to filet them open.

God, was that the grub?

Walt hurriedly removed his clothes from two rickety chairs and threw them in a corner. "Yep, she's all mine. Dandy, ain't she?"

"Dandy." Kelly muttered sickly.

"Caught me some squirrel this morning, it's going to be a darlin' meal sharing it with two pretty girls."

Kelly took one look at Jill and could just feel the question she was burning to ask. Which one is the prettiest? Before the words could reach her throat, Kelly decided that squirrel would never touch her stomach and Jill would never ask that question. "We'd rather just make this quick and talk about why we're here. Your brother sent us to look for you."

Walt laughed. "Why did he need to do that? He knows where to find me. But it ain't like it matters, haven't talked to him in over ten years."

Jill sighed and took over for Kelly. "He's dying, Walt."

Walt blinked his eyes in surprise and then turned and hurriedly stepped into his kitchen in three long, easy strides.

"So," he said casually, grabbing up the long knife and wiping it on his thigh. "My big brother is dying." Walt was busily inspecting the blade of his knife. "Well, what do you know? How long's he got?"

The girls shared a look before Kelly gently nudged her friend forward. She had never been good at this type of thing.

Knowing this, Jill sighed and stepped forward to join the old man by his sink.

"Not too long. Six months, a year." Jill answered. She was trying to be sympathetic but her blue eyes couldn't help but notice that Walt had just grabbed up a dead squirrel in one hand and positioned a rusty old coffee can underneath it.

Walt chewed his lip for a moment and, much to Jill and Kelly's relief, set the squirrel down. "That bad huh?" he said easily. "Robby, Robby, Robby." He picked up the squirrel again and Jill took an instinctive step backwards.

"I'm- uh," Jill stammered, her eyes on the squirrel. "I'm sorry to be giving you such bad news."

"Mmhmm." The old man grunted. He positioned the knife under the squirrel's tail, made to dig into it and then suddenly stopped and set it down again to look Jill in the eyes. Both girls' sighs of relief were very clearly heard. "So.. so.. why didn't he come himself? You girls here with your guns to make sure I don't come to the funeral like this? I do own a suit." He picked up the squirrel and without any more delay, slammed it down on the counter, yanked up its tail and began sawing into it. Jill winced but chose not to acknowledge it.

"It's nothing like that." Jill said slowly, her eyes on the squirrel. Her father had drunkenly attempted to teach her and Kris how to do this very thing when they were little girls. It only resulted in her younger sister's skinned squirrel related nightmares for a month, and she knew what was coming next.

Kelly did not and when the old man suddenly lifted the squirrel by the back legs and yanked it's skin off by the tail with a loud Velcro-like tear, she let out an involuntary squeak.

Jill did her best to continue as if unaffected. "Your brother is dying but someone wants to take what little time he has left from him. There's been three attempts on his life in the past month and we believe whoever's behind it wants to get their hands on the family fortune."

The girls listened to Walt skin the rest of the squirrel before the old man finally laid down the knife and looked up at them. "And what can I do? I haven't spoken to my brother since you two were in grade school, I didn't even know he was sick."

Kelly finally stepped forward, if only to hurry along the questioning so they could be spared the squirrel autopsy. "There are people out there who are willing to kill your brother so that he dies without an heir. If that happens then your family's possessions go to public auction where there's nothing to stop these people from getting what they want. We were told you were in possession of your family's genealogy. Your brother said if he had an heir that would be the best place to start looking. We'd like to see that please."

Walt shook his head before picking up the squirrel again. He sliced into it's midsection and the dead animal's intestines plopped into the coffee can with a nauseating splat. "So that's what he wants." The old man said slowly.

"Yes." Jill answered as sweetly as possible, avoiding the innards of the animal before her. "May we browse through it?"

"Sure you could," He suppressed a laugh, but Jill could see how much he wanted to release it. "If I hadn't burned it a few years back."

Kelly's jaw slacked open and Jill's shoulders drooped. They both stared at him, their composure completely gone after driving for nearly six hours to retrieve something that was long gone. Burned!

"Why..." Jill tried to find the words to complete her sentence, but all she really wanted to do was call him insane. "Why burn your whole family history? Wasn't that... didn't it mean something to you?"

Walt wiped his hands on his pants, slanting his head to the side. "Well, you see, it was real cold that night and I had ran out of firewood. Since I have no need for a book that tells me what I already know and when who was born and died when, I thew it in there. Burned real nice."

Kelly, exasperated by this point, clutched her fists. She, who didn't have a trace of lineage anywhere was unable to believe how someone could treat having a family with such disgrace. "You threw away your entire family history because you were COLD?"

"Easy, Quickdraw. There wouldn't have been anything to find in there anyways."

"You can't be sure of that." Kelly shot back.

"I can so. Neither of us married, had kids, and I don't want his stinkin' fortune. Therefore, he ain't got nobody. Let the public have his little golden statues. I have this!" His threw his arms out proudly. "No money in the world could take me away from it!"

Kelly sighed and wearily dropped her arms to her sides. "I wouldn't count on any offers." She muttered.

If the old man was offended by her sarcasm he didn't show it. He only laughed and set about gutting the squirrel. "If that's all you came for, girls, then how about you relax a minute and I'll fry us up some squirrel?"

Kelly shook her head in disbelief and made a point of not looking at Jill. If she knew her blonde friend, there was a disapproving look being cast at her right now that she didn't care to see. She was being rude again she knew, but the stench was getting to her, she'd just seen a woodland creature inside out, and that was the second time he'd called her Quickdraw for her earlier fumble. Whatever happened to the young Joan Crawford?...

Suddenly, Kelly raised her head, the thought of a wild night back in '28 giving her a new hope. The idea made up for the fact that she chose to look at the old man the moment he lopped off the squirrel's head. "Hey Walt?" she chanced, doing her best to ignore it. "Was your brother very popular with the ladies in his younger days?"

"We both were," He inflated his chest, giving them both his most charming smile. "Our family threw parties and those Hollywood gals would swarm around us like flies on shit. My brother liked any girl he could get his hands on, but me?" He thwarted his eyes over at Jill, his voice becoming a little bit huskier. "I liked the blondes." He grinned and then turned his attention back to the squirrel. " Doesn't mean I would turn down Joan Crawford though."

Kelly rolled her eyes, silently conceding defeat.

"Got some snow on the roof these days but if there's a fire in the furnace, this old man wouldn't turn down any girl. But yup, liked me the blondes. Still like 'em, you know." Walt pressed on, half smirking at Jill.

Jill blushed and gave Walt a flirty little giggle, going out of her way to make Kelly realize who had just won. "Squirrel does sound awfully good, doesn't it, Kelly?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow and shot a glance toward the old man, who was now lifting the tail of the second squirrel. That, thank God in heaven, was their cue to leave.

"Too bad I had it for lunch." Kelly said quickly, reaching out and taking Jill's arm. "Can we take a rain check, Walt?" Another Velcro-like ripping made Kelly shut her eyes and shudder.

"A rain check?" Walt echoed, looking genuinely disappointed. "Well, if you gotta go." He stopped and wagged the skinless squirrel toward them. "But don't think you can just come by for squirrel any day of the week. It's a real delicacy you know."

The squirrel's head sagged to the side, fixing Kelly with it's dead, beady, black eyes. It was time to go.

"We'll keep that in mind." Kelly said quickly, dipping into her purse for the bundle of business cards she kept in there. She peeled off the top one and slapped it on a tiny patch of clear space that belonged to whatever was sitting next to her. A table? A chair? Who could tell with all the junk.

"Thanks for your time. If you can think of anything, please give us a call."

"Oh, I surely will." The old man responded. He stepped forward and was about to extend his hand for a handshake before suddenly thinking better of it. With a sheepish grin, he waved.

"Bye, Walt." Jill purred, setting down her own card on top of Kelly's.

She heard Kelly mutter under her breath beside her before allowing her cranky friend to drag her out of the R.V. and into the messy yard it was parked in. The door had scarcely closed behind them before Kelly yanked out her keys and shoved them into Jill's hand.

"Well, that was a complete waste of time." Jill said airily. "Nice old man though, didn't you think?"

Kelly rolled her eyes again. "I'm done thinking. Just get us home." She said wearily. "And try not to pass any squirrels on the way."

Jill giggled and fell into stride with her nauseated friend as the girls made their way through the high grass to where they'd parked. "Oh, come on." She teased. "Squirrel's not bad at all."

Instead of riling up Kelly like she'd intended, she was rewarded with a look that she couldn't decide was disgusted or surprised. "You've eaten squirrel?" Kelly blurted out, as the girls got into the car.

Jill's smile widened. "Of course. My dad loved squirrel."

"What does it taste like?" Kelly continued, sincerely fascinated.

Jill thought for a moment before starting the car. "Hmm. Have you had rabbit?"

"No."

"It tastes like rabbit."

"What?" Kelly sighed, exasperated by Jill's explanation. She turned to face her friend and upon seeing the huge grin on her face finally realized that Jill had been having some fun with her. But she could no longer smell squirrel guts and they were leaving the disgusting R.V. So instead of being punched, Jill got off with a light shove to the shoulder.

The blonde giggled merrily as they drove and Kelly couldn't help but join her.

"He butchered a squirrel right in front of us, Jill." Kelly laughed, shaking her head. "Wait till we tell Bri."

"I know. But you know what my favorite part was?" Jill asked.

Kelly cocked her head. "What?"

"That you owe me chips and a coke."


	3. Bambi

Jill drummed her fingers nervously on the steering wheel as she drove. What had started as a tingle of uncertainty an hour ago had steadily developed toward stomach cramping panic. Cursing under her breath, she slowed and looked around the dark and empty road.

No signs. No lights. No cars.

No clue where she was.

"Aw, shit." Jill muttered to herself. She heaved a sigh of frustration and turned guiltily toward Kelly, who had been asleep for the past few hours. She hadn't wanted to wake her. An hour ago, she'd thought herself on the right track, but the past four turns had gotten steadily less familiar. Where was the lake? Where was ramshackle motel they'd passed?

Jill rubbed her eyes and glanced at the map. Useless. Despite her confident promise to Kelly that she could find her way back by herself, she'd failed. There was no choice now. She had to wake her up or they'd never get home.

She was never going to hear the end of this.

"Ke-" Jill began to say but the words were taken out of her mouth. The headlights of the mustang were suddenly blotted out as a large form leaped in front of the fast moving car. Jill gripped the steering wheel tightly and smashed down on the break pedal full force to avoid hitting whatever it was. There was no time to swerve out of the way.

The bridge of Jill's nose rammed against the top of the steering wheel as the car smashed into a fraction of itself. Pieces of glass shattered inside the car, the windshield disintegrating into nothing due to the sheer force of the animal that nearly fell in with them. Her vision clouded and she clenched her eyes shut, feeling pelts of liquid hit her from what she'd collided with. Within seconds something thick and wet dribbled down to her chin.

Something told her to take time opening her eyes.

She did so slowly and immediately wished she hadn't.

Two big black lifeless eyes stared back at her. Jill cringed at the sight. The deer's mutilated head and upper body had smashed right through the windshield and now lay on the hood, leaking blood all over the dash and onto the front seats. There were wisps of smoke rising up from the front of the car, which was now much closer than it had been seconds ago. The engine was surely a goner.

It was too soon to tell how badly they'd been hurt, though. She had been able to brace for impact, however, Kelly couldn't in her dead sleep. Jill could only pray the seat belt did its job. Before she could worry about herself, she snapped her head over to Kelly, who was bent over in her seat, clutching her head and stomach simultaneously.

What had happened? What had she done?

The car rolled a bit farther down, one tire going off the side of the road on its own. Jill felt numb as she tried to slow down her labored breathing and focus more on Kelly. "Kelly," Jill grabbed her arm and shook it. "Kelly talk to me! What's wrong!?"

As she did this, Jill found that moving herself was a difficult task. Being thrashed so violently had done more damage that she thought. "Kelly!" She yelled again, desperation in her voice as she unbuckled herself in order to lean in closer. "Tell me you're okay!"

"I don't know." The brunette finally answered quietly, pain evident in her tone. "Don't touch me, just let me sit here for a minute."

Jill paused the words she wanted to say and slipped her hands away. Her eyes felt like they were going pop from the intensity of watching her friend's every move, sound, and breath. In those moments where there was nothing she was able to do, she reached up and wiped away the blood from underneath her nose and on her chin. The tanned skin on her arm became tainted in red.

Kelly was sweating, obviously panic stricken and only moments away from looking like she could hurl. She licked her lips and gasped in deep breaths, feeling for anything out of the ordinary. "I... I don't think I'm hurt. I don't feel anything..." But the talking made her wince. She pulled her hand down off her head and there it was. "Except my head is bleeding."

"What?" Jill moved back over and Kelly turned her head sideways so Jill could get a better look. "Oh shit, Kell." A gash started above Kelly's eyebrow and disappeared into her mess of dark hair. "How bad does it hurt?"

Kelly growled. "Well, how bad does it look?"

"You'll need a hospital."

"Then that's how it feels." She kept her bloodied hand pressed against it until she could find something else. There had to be something in the back seat or in the trunk. "What about you?" She pondered, "Are you hurt?"

"Not really. Aside from my nose bleeding, I think I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"Then what the fuck, Jill!" Kelly had a near reflex reaction to do harm to the blonde, who cowered back in shock at her raised voice. "You nearly killed us! Why the fuck weren't you watching the damn road!"

"I was!" She quickly replied, hoping she could settle Kelly down. "Please, just relax. It was a bad accident, but if we freak ourselves out about it, it's only going to make things worse." Jill reached to touch her but she stiffened.

Kelly brushed her off and closed her eyes. "Fine. Fine." She breathed, after a moment. "Let's… let's just get the hell out of here and see how much damage there is."

Jill sighed. Kelly's head might be worse than she thought if she couldn't tell that the entire car was tilted dramatically to the left. Still though, to humor her, she attempted to open the door. It wasn't a surprise when it squeaked open a few inches before digging into the ground and refusing to budge any further.

"Can't get out this way." She said quietly. "Try your door, Kell."

Kelly groaned and cursed under her breath. "What do you think I've been doing? Help me." It took a few minutes of bickering and pushing, but the girls managed to pry open Kelly's door and climb outside into the cool night air where the most horrifying thing was not their battered vehicle.

"What the hell is that?!" Kelly panted, throwing an arm out toward the dead deer.

Jill followed her gaze and fought the urge to vomit up her bag of chips all over her shoes. What a grisly mess. "We hit a deer." She said flatly. "I tried to tell you. It just jumped out right in front of me. I couldn't stop."

"Jesus Christ, look at that damn thing!" Kelly continued, seemingly unaffected by the blood. "It's huge! And... look at what- how are we still alive?"

Jill rolled her eyes. She was done looking at the deer. Rather it than them. She walked around the vehicle and to her dismay remembered that she'd seen the left front wheel go rolling down the highway. They weren't driving anywhere in this thing.

"I don't know." She sighed.

Done with the deer, Kelly joined Jill beside the car and let loose a few choice words. "Shit. We need a tow truck." She said finally. "How long was I asleep?"

Jill bit her lip and busied herself with the trunk of the car. The axe was about to fall. "About an hour and a half." She answered. "Hey, you have some towels back here right?" Without waiting for an answer, she keyed open the trunk and swept through various items of junk until she found a crumpled t-shirt.

"So, we should be pretty close to that gas station we stopped at on the way up. Maybe a couple miles." Kelly continued, talking more to herself than to Jill.

"Uh-huh." Jill wiped her nose on the shirt before handing it to Kelly, who took it wordlessly, her green eyes looking around their surroundings before narrowing in confusion.  
"Wait..." Kelly said quietly. "An hour and a half…. I don't recognize this road. Where are we?"

Jill hid her face, scratching the back of her head. "You mean you don't recognize where we are?" Her voice got higher as spoke, and the complete guilt her expression held hit Kelly like a solid brick.

"You stuck to the road I showed you, right?" She asked wearily.

"There might have been some turns here and there I guessed on."

"Guessed on?" Kelly repeated, edging closer to Jill as the other woman backed away. "Guessed on!"

This time it wasn't a question, it was a statement of rage. Jill had gotten out of the car wreck alive but she wasn't sure she would escape Kelly alive. Seeing the blood rushing to her face – which couldn't be a good thing for the condition she was in – Jill seized the moment and waved her hands in front of Kelly. "Remember you have to keep your cool!"

"We're lost because of you! Were you even going to wake me up? Or just keep going until you realized we were at the border of Mexico?"

Jill shook her head, trying her best to calm Kelly down. But there was no way she was going near her. "As soon as I went to wake you up that fucking deer came out, I swear! And... we're not exactly lost. More like misguided."

"Lost is the word, Jill." Flustered and too close to reach out and attacking Jill, Kelly turned her back and moved to the side of the car which remained upright on the road. She relaxed against it, taking in deep breaths. The black, unseeing eyes of the dead deer stared behind her as she looked down on it. "I guess you're having a worse time than us."

"Who are you talking to?"

"The deer."

"Don't make friends with the dead animals, Kelly." Jill tried to tease but was met with an unforgiving look.

Kelly swept over to Jill, who flinched nervously once she saw her. "No, I'm not ready for you to be like that when I am so close to wringing your neck."

"Sorry. I suppose I shouldn't tell you the bad news?"

"There's worse news?"

"The car phone doesn't work." Jill expected a strike and closed her eyes but Kelly stayed silent, absently resting her head in the t-shirt Jill found. "And neither does the CB radio." Jill backed away quickly.

"That's not a shock," Kelly answered, sighing. "I could try to re-wire them but..." She shrugged over at the deer laying in her car's windshield. "That's not happening." Not to mention it was pitch dark and they lacked a flashlight.

Now that they were on more civil terms, Jill thought she could edge in the news that disturbed her most. "There's one more thing."

Kelly's sudden laughter lacked any humor. "What could that possibly be?"

Jill's expression held a bit of fear behind it. She nervously played with her hands, trying to figure out how to explain herself. "That deer was the first thing I've seen on this road. I mean no cars, no gas stations, no side roads, no houses... catch my drift?"

"You've been driving for hours and haven't passed a car along this road?"

"Not a one. To be honest, it's pretty weird out here."

"I've gotten that impression time to time but I can't say I've ever been out here at night. It's un-nerving."

Kelly closed her eyes and rested her head against the dented metal of the passenger door. Adrenaline had dulled her pain a few minutes ago but now her head was pounding. Her face felt sticky and the t-shirt Jill had given her was quickly soaking with blood.

She felt Jill sink down into the dirt beside her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Kelly sighed wearily, her eyes still closed. "I'm sorry I got so mad. You sure you're not hurt?"

Jill sniffled and shook her head. Her nosebleed was losing momentum. "I'm okay." She answered softly, wiping her face on the tail of her shirt. "I'm really sorry this happened."

"Not your fault that Bambi here decided to end it all." Kelly said, eyeing the dead animal crumpled on the hood of her car. It seemed to stare back and she had to look away towards Jill. She was surprised to see the detective looking back at her, a far away look in her eyes.

Jill half smiled. "Thanks, Kelly."

"But it is your fault that we're lost." Kelly continued. "What's the last familiar thing you remember seeing?"

The question had Jill pondering silently for nearly a minute.

"Um," She started slowly. "I… I think we passed that rusted out truck. Remember the one? You saw it and said that must have been where Sanford and Son went-"

Kelly's eyes opened and swiveled toward her friend in disbelief. "That's the last thing? That was thirty minutes away from Walt's place! Oh Jill, tell me there's something else."

The flustered blonde wiped her nose and let her head thump against the door of the car. "I'm sorry, Kelly. That's all I remember. I passed that truck and I was thinking that it was kinda like that cow skull in Death Valley that you see in the pictures, you know? Cause it was all rusted out and it reminded me of a skeleton. Then I was waiting to see that big group of trees." Her expression looked pained. "Only I didn't and then it was dark and I thought maybe I'd passed it so I started looking for the motel with the broken sign -"

"So we could be in Nevada is what you're saying." Kelly cut her off.

Jill dropped her head against her knees with miserable groan. "Yes."

Sighing to herself, Kelly shook her head and reached out to give her friend's shoulder a gentle rub. She couldn't even conjure up the energy to be mad anymore. Poor Jill looked so guilty and upset that anymore yelling would only make her cry. And that would get both of them nowhere.

"Look, we're both okay and that's all that matters. Don't be upset. The car has insurance, we'll get to see Bos make that weird face again and in a few days it'll be good as new, huh? So, c'mon, help me figure out what to do."

Jill rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms and did her best to compose herself. She sniffled and gazed out into the gloomy darkness. "I… I could keep walking that way." She suggested half heartedly. "Maybe there's something close by."

Her suggestion was met with disdainful laughter that stopped her mid-sentence. "Alone?" Kelly responded unbelievably.

"Well, you can't."

Kelly fixed her friend with a pointed look. "You aren't walking alone."

It might as well have been Sabrina that said it. Jill huffed her defeat, though secretly she was glad that she wouldn't have to do it. She'd watched too many horror movies to ever think that walking off alone on a deserted highway would get her anywhere but murdered.

"So there's nothing we can do but sit here and wait until a car passes by."

"Guess so." Kelly answered.

"Yeah, guess so." Jill echoed. She let out a wry laugh. "Too bad we didn't bring a book, huh?"

"Mmhm."

The girls were quiet for a few moments before Jill cleared her throat and gave her friend a gentle nudge.

"So, are you a man?"

* * *

Sabrina tilted Bosley's chair up and down with both of her feet pressed against the desk. She was on her fourth drink of the night and decided it would be her last. The alcohol was doing very little to calm her nerves as she waited anxiously for the phone to ring.

Any second now.

She'd long ago gotten a taxi for Robert Carlson and sent him back home after he provided no further assistance. Instead he merrily chatted her ear off until he fell asleep on the couch. It took a few slaps and heavy yelling to wake him up enough to help him out to the taxi cab. She hoped the driver would make sure he found his way inside safely like she had instructed.

Almost midnight. Maybe Walt had kept Jill and Kelly long with his talking. If he was anything like his brother then they wouldn't be home until tomorrow. But they never called her to check in which was unusual for both of them. An hour ago she had tried calling the mustang's mobile phone but just got a busy signal.

She laid her head down on the desk just as the phone rang. Sabrina grabbed it, hoping it was them. "Hello?"

"Hi, angel. I'm sorry I'm late but the meeting I was in lasted longer than I expected."

"A three hour wait is a little more than late."

Charlie chuckled. "I am sorry. Take the day off tomorrow as a token of my appreciation for staying so late."

Seemed too good to pass up. "I might take you up on that. But how did you know I was still here?"

"Lucky guess, but I know you. You've always done what I've instructed."

Sabrina smiled inwardly. Compliments from Charlie always did make her ego swell, as if she were the leader of their little trio. Sometimes it even felt like a competition between them, fighting for his approval on who did best.

"Well, thanks. Um... you haven't heard from Kelly and Jill have you?"

There was a quick moment of silence before he spoke. "No, not at all. In fact I was going to ask you the same thing."

Though she'd already been expecting that answer, hearing it made her stomach drop. The nagging feeling of something being wrong that had been plaguing her the past few hours immediately gave way to fear.

"Not a thing on my end." Sabrina said quickly. She swore under her breath and hoped Charlie hadn't heard. "I've called and all I get is a busy signal. It's been hours, Charlie. I think I should head that way and see-"

"No, angel." Charlie cut her off. "No. I don't think that's the best course of action right now." He heard her frustrated sigh and continued, hoping to keep any protests at bay. "It would be impossible to know where they are. It's a shot in the dark at best, Sabrina, and your going after them in the middle of the night isn't going to help matters."

Sabrina pursed her lips. "Then what am I supposed to do, Charlie?" She asked in exasperation.

"Go home.' Charlie answered simply. "It's fairly common to not be able to pick up a signal that far out of the city. This might be a simple case of car trouble." He paused to give a forced chuckle. "Or an overly talkative host."

"Car trouble?" Sabrina echoed back, unconvinced. "Kelly just got a new mustang last week."

"New tires aren't immune to blow outs, angel." "No, but..."

"Sabrina, go home." Charlie said again. "I must insist. If Jill and Kelly decide to call, I'm sure your apartment will be the first place they try. Try not to worry, I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding, but just in case I'll have the highway patrol on the lookout for Kelly's car."

There was a few moments of silence before Sabrina finally relented with a weary sigh. Judging by her boss's tone, he didn't think it was a simple misunderstanding either. But, not wanting to argue, she stood and began to gather her things. Charlie was right, anyway. They wouldn't think to call the office at midnight, they'd expect her to be at home. Maybe they'd already called.

With that thought fueling her, she grabbed up her purse and began to dig for her keys. "Alright Charlie, I'm on my way home then."

"Thank you, angel." Charlie replied and she could almost hear the relief in his voice. "I wouldn't worry too much about Jill and Kelly. They can handle themselves and whatever is going on, they're safer together. Call me as soon as you hear from them."

Sabrina didn't comment. "Likewise."

"Of course. Goodnight."

"Night." Sabrina mumbled. She waited for the gentle click on the other line that told her he'd safely hung up before she slammed the receiver down with an angry curse.

Damn every last liver spot on that lecherous old Robert Carlson. Damn Charlie for leaving her here by herself. Damn herself for not volunteering to go in their place. But most of all, damn Jill and Kelly for getting themselves into trouble.

Feeling helpless and angry, Sabrina snatched up her coat and quickly locked up the office on her way out. "Oh girls, how hard could it be?" she grumbled to herself in an imitation of Bosley's voice. "He's a two hundred year old man who's looking for someone to give all his money! For once you three can flip pages instead of your cars."

She scoffed to herself as she trudged past Jill's car to her own. Yeah, this was really shaping up to be an uneventful case alright. The frustrated detective climbed into her car, started it, and pulled out onto the empty street. "You two idiots better be okay." She grumbled to herself as the reflection of Jill's car gradually faded in the dark.


	4. Divinity's Reach

Not one single car.

No lights.

No phone.

Jill mentally listed the facts of their current predicament and quietly pondered over what she could do to resolve them. So far, it seemed to be that her fruitless pondering was the only thing she could do and just like their ruined car, that wasn't getting them anywhere. She sighed miserably to herself and for what was probably the hundredth time, raised her left arm up to her face and, squinting in the moonlight, was just able to make out the time on her miraculously undamaged watch.

Nearly 11:45, she noted grimly before letting her arm drop wearily back to her knees.

That meant they had been stranded for over three hours and counting and from the way things looked now, they weren't getting home anytime soon.

Jill sighed again and began to restlessly drum her fingers against her knees. She'd already given up on talking to Kelly. Her friend was being eerily quiet, and her strange silence and frightened aura was worrisome. But again, there was nothing to do but sit and wait. Half an hour into their ordeal, she had attempted to pull the deer off of the hood, but the buck proved to be too heavy for her petite body to move. Kelly and her working together might have had a better chance but she wasn't going to risk Kelly's health. Beside, she doubted the car would even move without the beast on top of it.

Now frustrated and tired, they sat on the abandoned road, leaning against the part of the car that remained upright and let their moody silence contribute to the overall bleakness of the night.

Jill had just finished checking her watch again when Kelly made a noise in the back of her throat that caught her attention.

"I guess Bosley won't be so happy about this." Kelly muttered when Jill turned her head. "This will be my third car I've gone through."

Jill averted her eyes guiltily. "I'm sorry." she apologized again, and she would keep doing it if it made Kelly talk and fill this maddening silence. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk further ahead to -"

"No!"

Kelly snatched her arm so suddenly, Jill jumped. "Please, I don't want you to go alone."

Jill blinked away her surprise and patted her friend's hand. Kelly was gripping her arm so tightly, she didn't think she'd be able to get away if she tried and seeing the fear – actual fear – behind Kelly's eyes began to scare her. "Okay, okay. I'm not going anywhere." She said quickly. That had been the only solution she'd come up with so far and there was a reason she'd not voiced it sooner. "Sabrina should know something is wrong by now, anyways."

It appeared to ease Kelly enough to let go of Jill's arm. But just for comfort, Jill scooted closer to her. "Good thing it's not cold out." She piped up.

Kelly laughed bitterly. "The perks of living is Los Angeles."

"Yeah." Jill replied softly. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean..."

"Yes." Kelly said simply, not wanting to think otherwise. "My head stings but that's it."

"Okay. Then that's good." Jill exhaled deeply and decided she needed to change the subject. She could feel Kelly's anxiety and knowing her friend was this upset wasn't doing anything for her own nerves. Maybe they both needed a distraction.

"Can I ask how you know your way around up here?"

To Jill's surprise, Kelly suddenly looked even more uncomfortable. "Around Bridge Grove?" She answered nervously, starting to squirm. "Well... um," She cleared her throat and if it wasn't so dark, Jill would have been able to see that her cheeks held a tinge of pink. "I've been here before. With Max. He took me up here a few times with his buddies to do stunts on our motorcycles. "

Jill's eyes widened but Kelly didn't notice in the dark.

"Max!? I didn't know you were seeing Max! How long have you been dating?"

"No!" Kelly cried, her face flushing even more. "Just to ride the hills. It wasn't a date. His friends were there too."

Jill grinned triumphantly. It wasn't often she could see right through Kelly, but her rambling was making this too easy. "Kell! He's cute, this is good! Max is such a nice guy! You two would make a cute couple."

"We're not dating!" Kelly protested. She sighed and drew her knees up to her chest. "Besides, I don't need to be focusing on dating right now."

The excuse bounced right off of Jill. "You know, I don't think Max will mind if-"

"Jill!" Kelly cut her off with a weary groan. "C'mon."

"What?" Jill replied innocently. "I've known the guy since high school and I've never seen him act like a little puppy dog the way he does with you. He practically trips over his feet when he's around you. He's _really _into you! You should have seen him at my party."

"Oh, quit!" Kelly blurted out, her cheeks a shade of red Jill had never seen before. "C'mon, you know I – I… I don't have time for that."

Jill laughed, thoroughly enjoying how flustered the mention of her handsome friend was making Kelly. It was a rare occasion something made Kelly lose her normally collected composure like this and possible concussion or not, it was her duty as a best friend to take advantage of it.

And as long as Kelly was a captive audience…

"You had time for Alan." Jill argued, sneering out the name of Kelly's ex as if it were a disease. "You can't let him ruin your dating life for the rest of your life even though he's a-"

Kelly whirled on her. "Jill!" She cried desperately. "It was a mutual decision! I just don't.. I don't need for…" She stammered for a few seconds before burying her face in her hands and slumping back against the car in defeat. "Ugh. Just shut up about it."

To her credit, Kelly's plea did stop Jill. But, not one to waste a perfectly good opportunity to rib her friend, Jill couldn't leave it for more than a few seconds. Kelly had just began to untangle her tongue before the excited blonde was at it again.

"I'm just saying," Jill started, snatching both of her friend's hands to keep from being slapped. "Give him a chance! I can talk to him for you and explain everything - no shut up and listen!" She clapped one hand over Kelly's mouth to postpone her protests. "And he's such a good guy and he likes you so much I bet he won't even care!"

Kelly managed to shove her away. "Well, I care." She grumbled. "Now, cut it out."

Jill heaved a dramatic sigh before flopping herself back against the frame of their car. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"I do."

Rolling her eyes, Jill crossed her arms in front of her and stared sullenly ahead. Her defeat wouldn't last long though. Beside her, she could see that she'd rattled Kelly and the sight of her red cheeks and her twitching hands brought a smile to her face once more. She cast a sideways glance toward her friend and gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow.

"Kelly and Max, sitting in a tree..." She sang softly.

Kelly groaned. "Knock it off, Jill."

"What's that in your eyes? Is that puppy love?" Jill continued, her grin widening at Kelly's expense. "It sure looks like it."

"I swear, Jill…"

But Jill was on a roll. She'd succeeded in making her friend's face turn a different shade of red and was about to continue the onslaught when a sudden flash of light caught her eye behind Kelly's shoulder. Her playful smile dropped immediately.

"Hey, what's that?" She said excitedly.

Kelly grumbled under her breath. "Jill." She warned, fully expecting further embarrassment.

She was surprised when her blonde friend launched herself to her feet. "No! Over there, look! I think I saw headlights!"

Kelly's head whirled around and saw the bright lights belonging to a truck coming down their way. She had a rule about not hitchhiking but now was definitely a time to put that aside. Jill bolted up and helped Kelly stand up. Her arm flung outward, waving it down.

"He'll stop, right?" Jill began to rush her words together, a streak of pure terror running through her. "I mean we're two injured girls on the side of the road, only a monster wouldn't stop to help!"

Less in fear and more in pain, the brunette groaned in reply. "Just do what you do at the beach. Lift your shirt."

Without thinking otherwise, Jill ran both hands to the bottom of her shirt with every intention of following through. Before a thought stopped her, seemingly more petrifying than the thought of not being picked up by a stranger. "What if it's a _girl_?"

Grunting in irritation, Kelly grabbed Jill's hands away from her shirt. "I wasn't being serious!" She gave her a small shove forward and then raised her hand, frantically waving it as the truck came closer. When it slowed down and came to a stop, both women felt relief flow over them. They looked up and saw the driver inside. He couldn't have been over forty, maybe even younger. His scruffy face as well as the dark made it hard for them to see who they were dealing with.

He rolled down his window and scouted the area, his eyes landing on the car. "You girls all right?"

"Kinda," Jill spoke up first. "We hit a deer and-"

"You hit a deer." Kelly snapped.

"-and her head is bleeding and we really need some help." Jill put her hands together in a prayer position, looking up at the ruggedly handsome man with her pleading blue eyes.

He quirked his head to the side. "No gentleman would ever leave two women stranded." He reached over and unlocked his passenger side door. "There is a hospital not too far from here where I can take you two to be checked out."

Jill was eager to thank him for his kindness but Kelly, ever the pessimist, clutched to Jill's arm and pulled her in closer. "Should we really trust a man that is so offering?" She hissed quietly into her ear.

"What choice do we have?"

Kelly then relented. There wasn't much of one. At least they still had their guns.

Jill opened the door and entered first, then held out a hand for Kelly and helped her inside. There they were, scrunched together in the front seat. After Kelly shut the door, she instantly opened her mouth to start asking questions. "So, what's your name?"

"Gunther." He smiled, his eyes on the dark road as he started to drive. "What about yours?"

Kelly didn't reply but she didn't need to. "I'm Jill," Her friend quickly pointed out, "and this is Kelly."

The brunette slipped her head into her hands, mumbling a variety of colorful words about Jill and her big mouth.

"Under better circumstances I'd be glad to be in the company of such beautiful women." His voice was smooth and full of charm, the complete opposite of his unshaven appearance. Jill insides felt like melting away. "I'm sorry about your unfortunate accident, but this hospital will take good care of you."

Jill moved a little closer to him and Kelly rolled her eyes. Sickening. "I didn't know there was a hospital in Bridge Grove." Kelly stated.

"It's under construction still, but the emergency room is open."

Satisfied with that answer, Kelly eased up a little but Jill was too busy making sure she was as close to Gunther as she could get. She forgot about her gun being held in her holster, and it poked him in his thigh. He looked down for a brief moment and then looked over at Kelly, seeing she had one as well. "Oh, are you two cops?"

"Detectives." Now embarrassed, she pulled the holster out and slid it down her other side. "We were on our way home from an investigation and I sorta got us lost. Then the deer jumped out and... here we are."

Kelly groaned. It sounded so ridiculous out loud, which meant it could only happen to them.

"It's easy to get lost around this area if you're not familiar with it. I use this road to get back and forth from home to work."

"Oh?" Jill played up her interest. "Where do you live?"

Gunther shrugged. "A little farther up north."

Upon his vagueness, Jill decided she would press a little bit more. He was too cute not to know anything about. "Well, where do you work?"

"I'm a surveyor. A lot of people have been through here wanting to buy some land but nothing has come up yet."

Something registered quickly in Kelly's mind as odd. "If you're a surveyor, then why are you out so late?"

He chuckled. "Most of my work lately has been down in L.A, so I haven't been getting home til past midnight. Lucky for you two."

"No kidding!" Jill grabbed a hold of his gray t-shirt in excitement. "We're from there!"

"Really?" He looked relatively surprised and took his eyes off the road for a split second to look at Jill.

Kelly only sighed deeply and refrained herself from stringing Jill's neck and she continued to give out personal details to a perfect stranger.

When Jill went to ask more questions about his life, she noticed a strange symbol etched into his shirt. She rubbed her finger over it – definitely sewn in. But once Gunther realized what Jill was looking at, he jerked his arm away. "It's just the logo for my company I work at." He said before she could raise any questions.

"Oh." Jill replied silently, feeling a bit foolish. She sighed and looked over at Kelly, who was staring out the window with the blood stained t-shirt still pushed against her head. Jill rubbed Kelly's leg. "We'll be there soon, Kell. Right, Gunther?"

"Almost there."

Kelly glanced at the window to where absolutely nothing resembling civilization could be seen for miles and fought the urge to comment on it. Somehow Gunther's word wasn't as comforting to her as it was to Jill. But the man was helping them out, and trust him or not, it was better than staring at that dead deer all night. She managed a nod and felt Jill pat her leg once more.

"See?" Jill assured her. "We're almost there."

"Good." Kelly replied shortly. She looked out the window again and began to feel all the ill affects from her injury. Not caring if either person heard, she muttered something to the extent of Jill's idiocy and Gunther being a grave digger for all they knew. Jill gently covered her face, hoping that remark hadn't been overheard, but even if it had Gunther lit up with a smile.

"You girls are lucky. I've been making this drive for months and I can count the times I've seen another car on one hand. Only damn thing out here." He gave Jill a sideways glance and grinned. "You know, I surveyed the land myself a few years back."

Jill turned around, expertly flipping her blonde mane towards her new friend and gave him a playful slap on the arm. "What?_ Really_?" She cried, seemingly delighted by this. "Did you hear that, Kell?"

Kelly pursed her lips. "Yeah."

"Isn't that neat?" Jill gushed. Her attention went back to Gunther and this time it was Kelly who caught a face full of hair. "What other stuff have you done?"

"Hmm." Gunther answered slowly. He caught Jill peering curiously at his company logo again and repositioned his arm to conceal it. "Nothing that you'd know really. My company has only just branched out into the city."

Jill pretended not to notice. This was far too fun. "Oh, look Kelly." She giggled. "He's modest."

Kelly rolled her eyes as she listened to her companions chit chat. Dating life must be a little slow for Jill because despite have a bruised face and a bloodied shirt, she was laying it on thick on the poor man. Not that he seemed to mind. Men tended not to ever mind. She closed her eyes and hoped the dull ache spreading from her head down her neck and shoulders was due to the cramped, claustrophobic conditions of the truck cab and not a concussion. A high pitched giggle sounded in her ears and she began to hear a ringing noise that nobody else could hear.

A long ten minutes went by before the truck suddenly slowed.

"Here we are, girls." Gunther said quietly, craning his neck to see out of Kelly's window.

Kelly opened her eyes and after a quick circuit, spotted a lone light cutting through the empty darkness that surrounded them. She glanced towards Jill, not sure why she felt so surprised that the man had actually kept his word. But her blonde friend had no time for her skepticism. Apparently she had some of her own.

"Is that it over there?" She asked nervously, as the truck began bouncing off of the highway onto another, much smaller road.

"That's it." Gunther replied simply.

Kelly stared at the light a while longer, until it's glow finally revealed the front of a large building. _Divinity's Reach Memorial Hospital_ was displayed just below the light in large white efficient looking block lettering. Its facade was like that of any other hospital she'd seen.

Gray or light brown brick, a concrete walkway with ten or so steps that lead to a gleaming set of glass double doors. Typical, modern. Beside that, another building, red brick, shorter and squatier than the first with a red cross above it's glass doors.

The emergency room? Probably.

But as they drew closer, the light revealed alarmingly little else. Despite a normal looking entrance, the rest of the building looked like construction had given up on it long ago, leaving it looking like an eerie skeleton in the darkness. Jill and Kelly shared a look, both sharing the same thought for the first time since Gunther picked them up.

There was no sign of construction being done anywhere. As if designed to fool passersby in the dark, the front of the buildings were the only ones that resembled a hospital. Beyond that it seemed to have given up trying. The twisted metal and concrete frames were all that was standing behind it.

The smooth concrete walkway that led to the double doors began out of nowhere. Just the same dried up and scrubby grassland that they'd been driving through all day.

"Are... are you sure it's open?" Jill asked, scooting closer to her friend now.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but the emergency room is open." Gunther's voice lacked his previous charm. The truck passed through a sagging chain link fence and then coasted to a stop in what might have been the parking lot had anyone bothered to build it. "Alright if I drop you girls off here?"

Red flags waved and alarm bells sounded off inside Kelly's head. This looked to be out of a twisted B-horror film, and the worst part was nobody knew where they were. They weren't even sure where they were. Kelly gave Jill a troubled look, but she wasn't going to stop herself from getting checked out. Jill needed it too, as the dim light revealed bruising along her nose and cheek.

"I guess," Kelly sighed, opening up the truck door. "There's a working phone inside, right?"

"Kelly it's a hospital for crying out loud." Jill shook her head. "They have to have working phones, right Gunther?"

"Of course." He politely smiled.

"I suppose you aren't going to stick around?" Jill asked hopefully.

His expression changed, looking down on her with what seemed like pity. "Sorry, my dogs are waiting for me."

Jill's face drooped but she managed to appear grateful enough. "Okay, well, thank you for the ride. It was nice meeting you."

"The pleasure was mine. I hope everything works out for you."

With a nod of their heads, they slipped out of the truck and Gunther reached to pull the door shut. He backed out and headed off into the darkness, disappearing out of their sight.

Jill stared after him for a moment, reluctant to admit to herself that he was gone. Though there had been a brief moment of fear when she realized he was driving her and Kelly to what had initially looked like an abandoned building, it had passed and she found herself wishing he'd stayed with them.

And not just because he was cute, he most definitely was, but because if no one was inside they were now officially stranded.

A hand patted her arm and Jill snapped out of her trance. Kelly was standing behind her, doing an admirable job of trying to look like she wasn't deeply uncomfortable about this.

"Come on," She urged, giving her a tug. "You'll learn to love again. Let's just get this over with, I want to go home."

Jill forced an uneasy smile and quietly fell into stride with Kelly. Walking closer than usual to each other, the girls crossed the patchy field that separated them from the dimly lit hospital entrance.

"Maybe we should have asked him to stay until we made sure someone was actually here." Jill said nervously as she took her first step onto the concrete walkway.

Kelly only pursed her lips. "I don't miss him. Besides, there's lights. Someone has to be here." She said quickly. She stepped up on the walkway beside Jill and the girls shared an uneasy look.

The hospital had looked creepy enough from the truck, but standing directly in front of it brought the unsettling feeling of paranoia to alarming levels. The dim overhead light wasn't revealing too much, but what it did was still and wrong. No movement, not enough light, no buzz of activity from inside. Nothing. Like walking into a ghost town.

Jill swallowed hard, feeling the hair go up on her arms. Now that they were upon it, she found herself not wanting to go inside. She turned to seek some reassurance from Kelly and saw her fried absently readjusting the blood soaked t-shirt pressed against her head. No, there was no other option. Kelly needed a doctor and they needed a phone.

Resolved, she took Kelly's arm and gave her a gentle tug toward the steps.

"Hopefully we'll meet a couple of cute doctors and this whole mess will be worth it."

The two detectives trudged up the steps and cautiously approached the glass double doors.

"Only you would be thinking about men in a time like this." Kelly winced as she spoke, peering in through the thick glass to see what she could make out inside before they stepped in. "On second thought, maybe there isn't anybody here. I don't see..."

A bolt of courage ran through her body and Jill pushed the door open, capturing Kelly's arm before she could fall from leaning on the door. "Then we'll just have to find them." With hooked arms, Jill helped her stumbling friend inside where they stood in the middle of an isolated main entrance.

Their heads moved rapidly around, each taking in an undiscovered part of the uncompleted hospital. There was a single hallway to their right that was shadowed with darkness. Their only hope was the light above them and the sign on the wall that pointed arrows in which direction the emergency room could be found.

"I think we should find a phone first." Kelly pointed out quickly.

Taking slow steps forward, being careful to not make noise now that they were inside the building, the two kept going straight – following a sign on the wall that pointed with an arrow to the emergency ward. Their eyes dove in different directions for any sign of a phone connected to a wall but no such luck.

They halted at the end of entrance and looked at the arrow pointing right toward emergency. The other arrows were unmarked. Kelly gulped, her instincts scrambled due to her head trauma. Something told her not to walk any further but there was a lot on the line if she didn't. Jill stayed tightly connected to her, sensing the dread seeping from her body.

"What do you want to do?" Jill spoke quietly. And whatever Kelly said, she was going to support her.

"I have to go. I can't risk it. But if you want to stay behind-" She attempted to say but Jill's alarmed face made her stop.

"Don't you ever think that I'd leave you, especially in a situation like this."

Kelly smiled, thankful for the friendship she found in Jill, even if she could be relentlessly annoying.

With mustered up courage, they turned to the right and marched toward the emergency room doors – unaware of what waited for them.


	5. The Nurses

The short walk that seemed like the longest walk either had ever taken finally ended at a set of unremarkable metal double doors. Jill and Kelly stopped a few inches in front of them and shared a look. Emergency, the red on white lettering read, but there was nothing urgent about this dark empty hallway.

It looked unsettling inside. Jill couldn't pinpoint what it was, but the absolute stillness in the air drove a chill down her body.

"Okay..." Jill whispered nervously, her sweating palms gripping the cold metal door handle. If she stared at it any longer, she'd lose her nerve and right now Kelly was depending on her to be brave. "Don't worry. It's a hospital. They'll take good care of us."

Before Kelly could respond to her, she shoved the handle down and swung open the door.

Jill nor Kelly were sure about what to expect on the other side of the emergency room doors and though both thought themselves prepared for anything, the sight that awaited them was still a shock.

Three people, a man and two women, in crisp white nurses uniforms stood in a row in the middle of the room, eyes fixed on the door they'd come through and smiles on their faces as if the two injured detectives were expected guests. The nurses stood in an empty, green tiled room, the large area lit only by one set of bright fluorescent lights in the opposite corner. Their presence in a hospital was more surprising than it should have been given the circumstances, but much more unsettling was what wasn't present.

Where were the patients? Where was the equipment?

Jill blinked her eyes in confusion.

Where were the lights?

One of the female nurses stepped forward and though she was smiling, Jill felt Kelly's hand grab and then tighten around hers. For some reason it made her stomach lurch. Knowing Kelly was scared definitely wasn't making this any easier

"You're the girls from the highway." The older nurse said sympathetically. It wasn't a question; it was a statement, as if she already knew. The heavy set nurse did not give off any impression of malice, making Kelly wonder why she didn't feel more at ease. Her light brown hair hung just above her shoulders, curled in toward her cheeks and accenting her oval shaped face and small, light eyes. There was an uncomfortable looking grin on her face that made it appear as if she was squinting, making it difficult for her eye's true color to be revealed. Her smile lines and faded crow's feet gave away her true age. Without the lines she might have thought the nurse was younger. But something about her appearance was strange, old fashioned, reminding her of nineteen forties housewives she'd seen in old magazines.

"Uh..." Kelly stammered, caught off guard. She stiffened and shot Jill a look as the older woman gently took hold of her arm. "Yeah, we hit a deer."  
"Hit a deer." The nurse echoed, clucking her tongue sympathetically. "What an awful mess." She smiled warmly then draped an arm around Kelly's shoulder and began leading her toward a hallway to their right.

Jill fought back the urge to keep Kelly from following her and reluctantly let go of her friend's hand. The older nurse was being uncomfortably sweet to them, like a grandmother humoring a small child. Certainly she could see their injuries, but didn't seem overly concerned with them. And just how in the hell did she know they'd hit a deer?

"How did you know we were coming?" She blurted out before she realized she'd planned to speak.

The older nurse chuckled softly. "You don't believe we're psychic?" She chuckled again and this time the male nurse joined her. The younger female nurse turned away as if annoyed.

"No, dear, a man called to make sure you got inside. He seemed very concerned."

"I don't blame him." The male nurse agreed with a smile. "You two are sure in the right place. I'm Nurse Shepard, this is Nurse Stone and..." His smile faltered slightly as he jerked his head in the direction of the younger woman, "That's Anna." He put back on an easy grin and approached Jill. He was much younger than the talkative nurse. Early thirties at most and if this had been any other situation, his smooth, boyishly handsome face and bright blue eyes would have intrigued Jill.

It wasn't any other situation though. She ignored him when he took her elbow, her eyes locked on the hallway the older nurse was leading her friend. "What about her?" She heard Kelly ask the nurse nervously, suddenly digging in her heels to stop. "Are you going to help my friend?"

"Of course, honey, but you have a pretty nasty head wound by the looks of it. We need to run some tests on you." She replied to Kelly patiently.

She gave her a gentle push forward but Kelly wasn't having any of it. She glanced backwards and the panic in her eyes was unmistakable.

"It's okay, Kell." Jill called to her as the male nurse lead her the opposite way. "I just have a bloody nose remember? I got off easy. Go on, I'll be over as soon as I'm done."

"See? Nothing to be afraid of." The nurse soothed. Having decided that Kelly was fast becoming a belligerent patient, she nodded toward the other female nurse and the younger woman quickly joined them. Kelly rolled her eyes lightly as a second nurse took her arm, but was done protesting.

"See you in a few." She mumbled over her shoulder before reluctantly allowing herself to be lead down the hallway toward the bright light of a single open doorway.

Jill watched her go despite every instinct inside her screaming to not let Kelly out of her sight. She wondered briefly if her friend was feeling the same way.

"You can call me Bruce if you'd like."

The male voice interrupted her thoughts unexpectedly. He had a charming smile but Jill couldn't find it in herself to be interested. "Might I know your name? It's good to have it on the medical record."

"Oh," In that brief moment, Jill couldn't locate her name inside her mind. Seeing Kelly stricken with panic had done something to make her stomach churn. She wondered if it was a good idea to scout the area for the nearest trash can in case she had to vomit. It wasn't normal when she had to be strong for Kelly. Usually it was the other way around. "It's Jill." She finally said. "Jill Munroe."

"Munroe..." He said quietly as he wrote it down on the chart in his hand. Jill sat quietly, waiting for him to ask her to spell it as most did. He didn't though. "Just step right into this room and I'll close the curtain so we can take a look at you."

"Wait," Spelling forgotten, she grabbed the curtain before he could close it and peeked back out. "Why did my friend get a room with a door and I get this?"

Amused by her curiosity, he decided to explain. "Because she is a trauma patient, noted by the head wound. You are a maybe slightly fractured nose patient that doesn't need urgent attention. That room stores our equipment."

Jill put a hand up to her nose and narrowed her eyes. "I happen to like my nose and would find it a trauma if it's broken."

Bruce removed her hand and put the bridge of her nose between his thumb and pointer finger, then gave it a gentle wiggle. Jill immediately cried out in pain and jerked backward. "What the hell was that!? Are you a registered nurse!?"

"Yes, and you'll be happy to know that your nose isn't broken, just bruised." He spoke with his eyes turned down toward the paper he was writing on.

"Pull something like that again and I'll be happy to give you a broken one." She winced, lightly touching underneath it to make sure she hadn't started bleeding again. "I'll have you know that I work for law enforcement, pal. This gun isn't just for show."

He slid his chart into one hand and held out the other, his expression never changing. "Speaking of that, no guns are allowed in the hospital."

"No, I'm a detective. I can have this on me."

"No, security can wear one. Detectives don't count. Hand it over."

"I have a license for this!"

He didn't relent.

She couldn't believe herself when she found her hands slipping the holster off her pants and planting it into his palm without a fight. Jill could scoff all she wanted to about it but he wasn't lying. They usually had to sneak theirs in if they found themselves at a hospital. Only this time they were the patients. Jill felt sick again and sulked down into the bed. "Well, keep it somewhere safe. That's brand new."

"It'll be locked away until you come back for it when you leave." He gave her another pleasant smile. "Boy, Gunther was spot on about you. You're something else."

"Gunther?" She piped up in surprise. The nurse knew the stranger that had found them? "You know Gunther?"

Bruce stopped talking momentarily, looking as if he was regaining his senses. Even though he did it quite smoothly, Jill noticed something peculiar. "Of course, we told you a man called asking about you and your friend. He mentioned his name."

"Oh." Jill said quietly. Her enthusiasm lost to confusion and worry about Kelly, she dropped the subject. "Look, I just really want to see my friend. When can I go in there?"

"I'll check in if that'll help you relax. Meanwhile I'm going to go get you something for your pain and some ice to put on your nose to help the swelling."

Jill finally gave in and laid down on the bed as Bruce turned away. "I'll be back shortly."

"Good." Jill muttered and watched him slide out from the curtain.

What she couldn't see was his smile fade into something far from good.

* * *

"What's your name, dear?"

Kelly snapped her eyes forward, pulled out her daze by the older nurse's voice. It would have been hard to concentrate in the eerily silent and dark hospital corridor even without a head injury and an increasing feeling of claustrophobia. Kelly was having noticeable difficulty.

"Dear?" The nurse pressed. "Your name?"

"Uh," Kelly started, surprised at how shaky and unsure her voice sounded. "Kelly Garrett. Listen, can-"

"Kelly." The nurse repeated as if it were the answer to a difficult riddle. "What a lovely name for a pretty young girl."

"Thanks." Kelly mumbled in reply. Awkward now, she flicked her eyes away from Nurse Stone and to the younger woman who barely had a grip on her left arm. But, it was too dark to really get a look at anybody and too preoccupied to dwell on it, she closed her eyes against a spell of dizziness. When she opened them again after a few moments, she found herself stepping into the bright light streaming into the hallway that had earlier looked so far away.

"Okay, Kelly." Nurse Stone said cheerfully as she led her into the bright room. "We're gonna take good care of you tonight. Let's have a look at you."

Kelly looked frantically around the room, a sense of unease growing ever stronger with every passing second. This seemed more like a storage room than a room for patients. There was strange looking medical equipment all around her, yet it was shoved against the walls, unplugged, half covered in white drop cloths. A hospital bed with no sheets stood like an island in the middle of the room.

A hand patted her shoulder and Kelly jumped. "Easy!" Nurse Stone chuckled. "If I can get you to lie down, Anna here will take care of you while I go get you something for the pain."

Kelly turned, remembering the younger nurse, and felt her stomach give a lurch.

"Lie down, please." Nurse Stone said again, pressing down on her shoulder. Kelly, her eyes fixated on Anna, finally obeyed. The older nurse began to happily hum a certain hymn that her mind recognized from childhood, but had long forgotten the words to. The melody sounded beautiful, peaceful. It began drifting further away from her hearing, and then there was unnerving silence.

Kelly lay in a trance for a moment, staring at the darkness outside before suddenly popping up to a sitting position with a gasp. "Wait... I don't know if I can take anything!" She called into the hallway. Sighing in frustration, Kelly whirled around to the other nurse in her room. "Hey, I forgot to tell her – I mean, I need to tell her tha-"

"You need to lie down." Anna repeated quietly. Her voice had an odd, childlike quality to it, whispery and soft yet commanding enough that Kelly felt compelled to immediately shut her mouth and lie down like an obedient pet.

"Whatever it is, we can deal with it when Nurse Stone comes back." Anna said dismissively. "Don't move." She gave Kelly her back as she pried open a plastic container in front of her and without knowing how, Kelly knew that it would be in her best interest to not say a word.

Instead she watched the young woman work, watched her impossibly elegant fingers unroll some thick gauze. It was hard to believe she was watching such a menial task the way her hands moved.

She was beautiful, Kelly noted absently. Startlingly so. Like a living, breathing hand crafted porcelain doll. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, so even toned that it might as well have been a mask, lending a stark contrast to her dark, almost black eyes. Underneath her nurse's cap, a lock of hair even darker than her eyes had slipped free and now formed a curtain against one pale, perfectly shaped cheek. Kelly blinked, the young woman's perfectly symmetrical features unsettling her for reasons she couldn't place. There was something about her, something off, something that bothered Kelly.

"This might sting." Anna's voice said from behind.

Kelly nodded and said nothing as something cool and damp pressed against the wound on her head. She lay quietly as Anna worked, finding herself wishing that Nurse Stone would return soon.

It was a surprise when Anna spoke again.

"I hope it doesn't scar."

Kelly opened her eyes. "What?"

"Your head." Anna answered, dabbing methodically at the wound. "I hope it doesn't scar. It would be a shame."

Kelly looked away. "Oh. I hope so too." She whispered. "At least my hair will cover it if it does."

"You would still know it was there." Anna replied promptly. "You would always know. It's a shame."

This time Kelly attempted to raise her head. "I... what?"

"You're so pretty." Anna continued, monotone. She had lowered the bloody gauze to her side and cocked her head, studying Kelly as if she was a puzzle to be solved. "You have dark hair. Not as dark as mine. It's so pretty."

Kelly felt her face flush. "I'm sorry… can we just..."

"But your eyes." Anna went on quietly. "Your eyes are light." She pursed her lips as if this fact upset her. "So pretty."

"Thanks." Kelly murmured uncomfortably. Her eyes darted to the door, willing Nurse Stone to walk through it. "Are we… are we almost done?"

Anna stared at her a moment before gesturing back toward the pillow. She seemed more intense than before and Kelly found herself wishing she was back under the eerie gaze of the dead deer instead of Anna. "Yes. Lie down. I need to give you a shot." She said and Kelly reluctantly obeyed. She felt Anna's long fingers run through her hair and fought the urge to shy away. "Close your eyes."

Kelly did as she was told. "Um, listen, I don't know if this makes a difference, but I'm four weeks pregnant. I tried to tell you earlier."

Something clattered to the floor and Kelly opened her eyes. The white of the nurse's uniform flashed by her face as she did and Kelly sat up to see Anna rushing out of the room


End file.
